Help Push for Legislation that Supports Victims

House Bills 878 and 832 must go through the Pennsylvania Judiciary Committee before they go to the whole House for debate. Please contact members of the Judiciary Committee and your own state representative. These bills would protect ALL abused children – not just those related to clergy abuse. Information on the bills is in the advisory posted below contact information.

Contact Information for PA Judiciary Committee:

Hon. Todd Stephens, 717-260-6163. Stephens worked in the Montgomery County D.A.’s office in the sex crimes unit.

Hon. Sheryl M. Delozier, 717-783-5282. Delozier worked at YWCA with victims of domestic violence and rape.

HARRISBURG, March 9 – State Reps. Louise Williams Bishop and Mike McGeehan, both D-Phila., have called on the House Judiciary Committee to convene a public hearing and vote on their two bills to abolish the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases and to suspend the statute of limitations for adult victims of childhood sex abuse.

Their letter to Republican Chairman Ronald Marsico, R-Dauphin, and Democratic Chairman Tom Caltagirone, D-Berks, follows Tuesday’s announcement by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that 21 priests have been placed on administrative leave after they were named in a grand jury report on incidents of child abuse within the diocese.

“While we applaud the Archdiocese for taking action called upon by the grand jury recommendations by removing credibly accused priests from public circulation, it is all the more apparent that laws must be enacted to allow justice to be served,” the two said in their letter. “Only through discovery can records and files on the accused be subpoenaed and alleged enablers of childhood sexual abuse be deposed.”

Bishop’s bill (HB. 832) would abolish the statute of limitations on both criminal and civil lawsuits for child sexual abuse going forward. McGeehan’s bill (H.B. 878) would open a two-year window for adult victims of childhood abuse to access the civil justice system. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff to prove.

The bills were supported at a joint news conference last week by Bishop and McGeehan. The event also featured representatives from The Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse, Survivor Network of Those Abused by Priests, parents of sexually exploited children, victims and other stakeholders.

“We want to emphasize that although this latest action on the part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia provided the catalyst for our request, we recognize that the problem is not peculiar to the Catholic Church and by some estimates, cleric abuse accounts for but a small percentage of childhood sexual abuse,” they wrote.

Bishop said updating Pennsylvania’s child abuse laws is a challenge long overdue for comprehensive action by the legislature.

“If it can be shown that a person is directly responsible for hurting or putting children in harm’s way, those people should be prosecuted as in any other case,” said McGeehan. “This is the only way to keep organizations accountable for the actions of their personnel and protect children from serial pedophiles.”

###

March 8, 2011

Honorable Ron Marsico, Chairman

PA House Judiciary Committee

218 Ryan Office Building

Harrisburg, PA 17120 Honorable Ron Marsico, Chairman

PA House Judiciary Committee

218 Ryan Office Building

Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Chairman Marsico and Chairman Caltagirone:

Today, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, announced that 21 priests have been placed on administrative leave following an internal review of allegations of sexual abuse of minors emanating from the second grand jury last month.

While we applaud the Archdiocese for taking action called upon by the Grand Jury recommendations by removing credibly accused priests from public circulation, it is all the more apparent that laws must be enacted to allow justice to be served.

We are respectfully requesting that you, as Chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee, conduct a hearing and vote House Bill 832 and House Bill 878 out of committee forthright. House Bill 832 abolishes the statutes of limitation for future criminal and civil child sex abuse cases. House Bill 878 provides for a two year civil “window” for adult victims of childhood abuse to access the justice system against perpetrators and the entities which employed them. Plaintiffs must prove “gross negligence” on the part of the entity.

Only through discovery can records and files on the accused be subpoenaed and alleged enablers of childhood sexual abuse be deposed. We want to emphasize that although this latest action on the part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia provided the catalyst for our request, we recognize that the problem is not peculiar to the Catholic Church and by some estimates, cleric abuse accounts for but a small percentage of childhood sexual abuse.

With that said, we welcome the opportunity to work with the Judiciary Committee to prepare for a hearing on these statutes of limitation bills and we thank you in advance for your consideration of our request.

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10 thoughts on “Help Push for Legislation that Supports Victims”

Is Pennsylvania a Pro-Pedophile State?
You be the judge
By Mike Ference

How many grand jury investigations need to be held in PA before the lives of innocent children are deemed more precious and important than dysfunctional sex freaks from the ranks of PA catholic clergy and hierarchy? This article was written almost three years ago. How many survivors of clergy abuse in PA could have been changed for the better; maybe Michael Unglo would still be alive.

Former PA State Rep. Lisa Bennington, D-Allegheny County, held a press conference on May 12, 2008 in Harrisburg, PA to discuss legislation known as the Child Victim’s Act of Pennsylvania, which addressed statute of limitations and identifying sex abusers.

If the bill had passed, it would have changed the age at which a civil suit could have been filed from until the accuser is 30 to 50, bringing the civil statute of limitations in line with the criminal statute. The bill would also have suspended the civil statute of limitations for two years in child sex abuse cases in which the statute had expired so that people over the age limit could file a suit. And it would have allowed the filing of such actions against child sex abusers and their enablers in both public and private institutions.

According to Bennington, it was the private institutions (like in Ireland) where offenders were allowed to move on and continue with their lives. “Their victims left behind to pick up the pieces, never getting their day in court and or a chance to see justice carried out. They live with this horrific crime for the rest of their lives,” she pointed out.

A 2005 Philadelphia Grand Jury Report uncovered 63 priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese who had abused hundreds of children over several decades. In some cases, archdiocese leaders intentionally concealed the abuse to protect the church.

And Bennington stressed, her bill did not target the Catholic Church. Rather, “it pertains to all religious institutions, public schools, youth groups and any organization where child sex abuse has occurred. It would have given all Pennsylvania victims their fundamental right to hold those accountable that afflicted or allowed the abuse to occur.

Sounds reasonable and seems like a good thing. Similar legislation has passed in California and Delaware in recent years. In California, about 1,000 victims came forward and 300 predators were identified. Yet, there’s one PA lawmaker who strongly opposed the legislation and never even intended to give the bill a hearing.

State Rep. Thomas R.Caltagirone D., (Berks County), the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said the proposed bill was driven by victims’ desire to win large legal payouts. Caltagirone goes on to say the bill is all about money, not about justice.

Ironically, Caltagirone was quick to vote with fellow legislators for a 50 percent increase in their pensions in 2001 and the infamous middle of the night pay raise in 2005. The state rep along with other lawmakers chose to take the self-induced pay grab immediately in unvouchered expenses. Many PA residents felt this made the elected officials look like money-hungry crooks, as it was eventually declared unconstitutional.

As expected, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference deplored the bill. Choosing to continue to protect perverted priests, rather than seek justice. Likewise, the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania was also against the bill. And, while Caltagirone officially declared the legislation dead, his puppy-protection HB 39 bill – which would forbid dog owners from performing surgery on their pups – is still very much alive.

As someone who has been investigating clergy abuse in Pennsylvania for almost 20 years, this writer can’t help but think that something is amiss in the commonwealth – just like things were amiss in Ireland.

On the eastern side of Pennsylvania the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office issued a scathing report on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for the high level of sexual abuse among Catholic priests and the cover ups and the reassigning of credibly accused Catholic priests by Cardinals Anthony Bevilacqua and John Krol and their aides. It should be noted that Bevilacqua first served as Bishop of the Pittsburgh Diocese before his transfer to Philadelphia. Insiders claim Bevilacqua left his successor, Donald Wuerl, quite a mess.

For example, while Bevilacqua was still assigned to the Pittsburgh Diocese he agreed to place Fr. John P. Connor, an admitted child molester first within the Pittsburgh Diocese and later, after Bevilacqua took over in Philadelphia Fr. Connor was assigned there. According to testimony in the Philadelphia Grand Jury the arrangement was based on a “tradition of bishops helping bishops.” Sadly, Fr. Connor went on to abuse others and Bevilacqua was found to be a liar according to the grand jury report.

One has to wonder why the Pittsburgh Diocese voluntarily settled with 32 alleged survivors of clergy abuse. $1.25 million for crimes the Pittsburgh Diocese will never have to admit ever occurred. The settlement would not tarnish the stellar reputation of Archbishop Donald Wuerl who never had to pay a dime of diocese money to any clergy abuse victims during his tenure as bishop in the Pittsburgh Diocese.

Oddly enough, an underling – so to speak – Auxiliary Bishop Bradley reconciled the situation, only weeks before Bishop David Zubik was to be installed as the new leader of the diocese. So it seems everything fell into place.

32 survivors received a few bucks, the diocese is off the hook for any future civil or maybe even criminal suits based on the settlement. Wuerl continues to do in Washington D.C. whatever it is that Archbishops do and Zubik was allowed to get a fresh start in the Pittsburgh Diocese without the interference of those civil suits that were resting in limbo for several years.

The settling of the civil suits certainly allowed for an impressive and dignified installation of Bishop Zubik, no hecklers or demonstrators from any groups with compassion for children sexually abused by Catholic priests.

And, although I have no proof, nor anyway to calculate, I would be willing to bet the farm that more money was spent on Zubik’s festivities than was awarded to 32 survivors of alleged abuse by Catholic priests from the Pittsburgh Diocese. No big deal, the worst is over.

Unless of course, somewhere down the road – maybe a year, a few months, a couple of weeks, or perhaps in the next few days – information turns up that the cases of sexual abuse actually occurred and that cover ups were the norm in the Pittsburgh Diocese just like cover ups and shifting priests from parish to parish was the norm in the archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Anyone with a little common sense would be concerned that a man of the cloth might be tempted to hide crimes of clergy sexual abuse of young children only on the eastern side of the commonwealth of PA and not the western side as well.

That’s a lot of ifs ands or buts – only time will tell if Pennsylvania is indeed a pro-pedophile state. For now, we can only laud former Rep Bennington for trying to make a difference in the lives of those sexually, physically and emotionally abused as children; as for Rep. Caltagirone – one politician who obviously cares more about puppies than children – maybe it’s time for the law maker to rollover and play dead.

Mike Ference has been an advocate for clergy sex abuse survivors for over 21 years. He has written about the problem and works with clergy abuse families in Pennsylvania and across the United States helping victims work through the corrupt bureaucratic maize of injustice. He attributes much of the problem to corrupt leaders in government, organized crime and Catholic Church hierarchy more concerned about power and money than the salvation of souls. He has labeled the commonwealth of Pennsylvania a Pro-pedophile state where Catholic clergy sex abuse cover-ups are still the norm. Mike can be reached at 412-233-5491 or email him at mike@ferencemarketing.com.

Regarding the status of hearings by the PA Judiciary Committee, the latest word (unofficial) according to Penn.live.com is this:

The Patriot-News placed several requests to interview Marsico, a Republican from Lower Paxton Township, but was unable to reach him. Marsico has said the committee’s workload is too heavy to consider the bill.

I will continue to call to seek further information and/or clarification. Information received is that the Rep. Marsico’s chief of staff is Autumn Southard (who is on vacation until this Friday).

Rep Marsico might think the workload is too heavy for them to consider our requests that HB 878 and HB 832 pass the Judiciary Committee. It should not take a lot of time to pass such a sensible Bill!
There is NO BILL more important for him to consider! We have to convince him. Contact friends from other parts of PA and ask them to contact their Representatives. Contact Child Protection agencies in other PA cities and ask them to help.

Thank You To Our Supporters

“Have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”
(Matthew 10:26-27)

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